1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to finger protection devices in general, and more particularly relates to a device used to provide thermal protection for the fingertip of a user of a thermal appliance.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the craft-making field, it is often necessary to bond workpieces or work surfaces together using hot melt adhesives (hot glue). Using hot glue, as opposed to alternative bonding means, offers desirable features which include a fast setting time and a cleanup that is free from toxic solvents or the like. However, one disadvantage of using hot melt adhesives is that they are generally applied at temperatures between 300 and 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Because the work surfaces to be bonded together are typically held in place by a craft person's fingers until the glue has sufficiently set, severe burns to the person's fingertips are sometimes unavoidable without wearing some type of protective finger covering.
The use of gloves, in general, to protect hands and fingers from environmental hazards is well known in the prior art. Gloves have undergone numerous structural modifications, with each change tailored to a specific vocational or recreational application. The different materials from which these gloves have been fabricated are similarly numerous. The primary disadvantage of using glove-type coverings for protection, however, is that they are necessarily bulky in construction, and therefore unduly restrict hand and finger movement. Such restriction of movement can be detrimental in applications that require a high degree of manual dexterity. This is particularly true in the craft-making field, which typically involves the manipulation of small and delicate workpieces.
Although freedom of movement may generally be increased by employing a thinner glove material, or deleting the glove material from the finger portions altogether, the desirable thermal protection properties of the glove are accordingly diminished. Freedom of movement and thermal protection are generally mutually exclusive properties of a glove. Furthermore, gloves are cumbersome to put on and to take off, particularly when one or both hands are in use.
Other attempts at protecting the fingertip include the class of sheath-type devices, which are adapted to slide over the tip of the finger or thumb. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,908,881, to Field, discloses an aesthetically pleasing sheath-type finger guard to protect and cover an injured finger. However, the device disclosed in the Field Patent does not provide thermal protection to the wearer.
Another prior art device employing a sheath-type protective covering is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,747 to Banks. This device uses a thumb sheath and a pair of finger encompassing sheaths which are connected together by an insulating bridge therebetween. The device was specifically designed to provide thermal protection for use with hot curling irons, as found in the hair dressing field. Although sheath-type devices may offer improved freedom of movement of the hand, fingertip movement and tactile sensitivity remain substantially impaired.
Still other attempts at protecting the fingertip have concentrated on protecting the fingernail, rather than the underside portion of the fingertip. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,243, to Simonton, discloses a clip-on fingernail protector. This device, however, offers no protection, thermal or otherwise, for the underside portion of the fingertip.
Prior art protective finger coverings, attempting to provide thermal protection for the fingers, have been unsuccessful thus far for use in such applications as the craft-making field, which requires a high degree of manual dexterity. Therefore, there is a need, in such applications, to provide thermal protection for a thumb or finger that does not inhibit freedom of movement of the fingers or substantially impair tactile sensitivity.